Issue 23 — Biological weapons and kids' privacy progressions

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Hi. I missed you. I meant to write to you earlier this week, but I got sick. Not just sick but, like, on-my-mattress-moaning sick. I don't know who I wronged, but Karma came for me, friends. She came for me like Greta Gerwig came for the patriarchy in Barbie. (Great movie, btw). So, I'm late. But I'm here just in time to tell you: This week was cray with privacy news. But as we've been conditioned to understand: It's two-steps forward and one-step back, as always, with pushing privacy legislation forward. I shall explain.

The kids are up again? Alright

esterday, lawmakers at both the state and federal level deliberated on how to protect the children from the dangers of living life online. The Senate had a hearing on two kids' privacy bills — KOSA and COPPA 2.0, and a California judge heard NetChoice's case against the state's Age-Appropriate Design Code.

Reminder, KOSA aims to address the teenage mental health crisis we're facing in the U.S. by placing a "duty of care" on platforms hosting kids under 16 on their sites. It would require platforms to:

• Set privacy settings to the most robust by default.
• Publish annual audits identifying potential harms to kids.
• Prevent kids from accessing content that encourages harmful behaviors (self-harm, etc.).

Honestly, I just figured everyone was down for this bill. I mean, remember how the Age-Appropriate Design Code passed California’s chamber unanimously last summer?! I'll never forget that this game-changing law just passed right through in the name of the children! Plus, President Joe Biden emphatically ordered Congress to pass both KOSA and COPPA 2.0 this week. "Pass it, pass it, pass it, pass it, pass it."

Five times he said it!

But now, because I took the time to Google it, I realize (mostly) everyone hates this bill, including the ACLU, CDT, GLAAD, and many other respectable acronyms. My B.

The gist of critics' beef with KOSA is really twofold: First, advocacy groups say it would see companies collecting more data on children than ever before simply to verify ages. Second, opposition groups say censoring the content kids can access will prevent LGBTQ and trans kids from accessing information and support crucial to their safety.

Despite the jeers, both KOSA and COPPA 2.0 passed out of the Senate Commerce Committee today, and they head to the Senate floor now.

Next up: It’s been almost a year since California passed its Age Appropriate Design Code. It comes into effect on July 1, 2024, unless a federal lawsuit has its way.

If I had to give it a yes/no, I'd say, Yes: The AADC is something to write home about. If we letters were still a thing, this law would be worth some ink and a stamp. That's because it makes some sweeping changes to the way major platforms have operated to date by requiring websites with users 18 and under to estimate the age of their users, to set features to “privacy by default,” and to publish privacy notices kids can understand. (If anyone figures that out, for the love of God, let's just do the same thing for adult users).

NetChoice, a coalition of tech groups including Google, Meta, Amazon, is asking a judge to block the law from coming into effect, claiming it violates companies’ First Amendment rights by dictating what they’re allowed to post on their websites. (In the meantime, 17 states have proposed legislation similar to the AADC.)

Yesterday, a judge in San Jose considered NetChoice's request for a preliminary injunction in NetChoice v. Bonta. The hearing wasn't public, but Jess Mier was there and has a thorough thread on the ping-pong of arguments between the state and NetChoice. Find that thread here. It sounds like the judge is leaning toward granting NetChoice the preliminary injunction, and while we don't know when she'll rule on that, she's been urged to do so quickly given the AADC's approaching implementation date. Tick-tock.

Notably, the legislative trends toward age verification and estimation presents an opportunity for companies like Yoti, a digital identity company, and SuperAwesome, a parental-verification company, to offer solutions. Both companies have requested FTC approval for their "Privacy-Protective Facial Age Estimation" technology to be used as a verification mechanism under COPPA. This should be a fun one to watch, 'cuz privacy groups are gonna throw some real tomatoes at their screens if the FTC says yes. And if KOSA passes, there will surely be a whole lot of players joining them in the age-verification space, for better or worse.

Lawmakers aim to prevent 'human extinction'

The Senate Judiciary Committee met on July 25 to determine what a law to regulate AI might look like. Sen. Richard Blumenthal said lawmakers aimed to use the hearing to develop the general principles needed to write "real, enforceable laws."

Witnesses cited threats including algorithmic bias, biological weapons, and fully-autonomous models that could threaten human extinction. And that all sounds pretty bad, no? AI-company Anthropic's CEO said the technology has the power to one day help "otherwise unskilled malevolent actors develop biological weapons," Reuters reports. As the IAPP's Alex LeCasse reports, another witness said we're only a few years away from rogue AI models, and that's not enough time to figure out all the potential threats to "democracy, national security, and our collective future."

At the hearing, Blumenthal called for the establishment of an AI-specific regulatory agency to help us avoid a dystopia.

But not everyone's suggesting a full-court press toward an AI bill. Last week, seven of the Big Tech companies — including Meta, Google, and Amazon — told President Joe Biden that they'd voluntarily commit to keeping things cool as they deploy AI solutions, including conducting their own research on risks for algorithmic bias, discrimination, and your basic privacy invasions. They even said they'd publish those results. Even so, Meta's president of global affairs said the AI hype is overblown and "ahead of the technology," as BBC reported.

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